Toronto

Rouge Park

On a Wednesday afternoon I ventured out to the farthest ends of east Toronto. Close to the Toronto Zoo is the world-renowned Rouge Park. The Rouge Park is the only national (soon) park situated within an urban centre.

Rouge Park is over 40 km2, protecting two National Historic Sites and a variety of ecosystems joining the post-glacial Oak Ridges Moraine, roughly 50 km north of Toronto, and the City’s biggest wetland, where the Rouge River empties into Lake Ontario (Source)

map of rouge park in toronto | karim kanji

 
See my photos of Rouge Park in Toronto, below.
 

 

Toronto

Dean Blundell: The new sports radio morning show in Toronto

Dean Blundell hosted the first episode of his new morning show on Sportsnet radio The Fan 590 in Toronto today. Most mornings the bedroom radio is tuned in to The Fan590 while the living room radio is on Metro Morning with Matt Galloway.

Blundell sounded fine. His interview with Toronto Mayor John Tory was good and even humourous.

I never did listen to Blundell while he was on The Edge although I was aware of his shtick. However, after passively listening to him this morning I have come to the conclusion that Blundell deserves a chance. To either make it or fail. We shouldn’t judge his capabilities on what he used to do. Only what he will do moving forward.

I thought Dean Blundell did fine. What did you think?

Toronto

Museum of Inuit Art

This past weekend we visited the Museum of Inuit Art in Toronto. You heard right. Toronto is home to the MIA. The Museum is apparently the only one of it’s kind in urban Canada devoted exclusively to art made by the Inuit.

You can find the Museum of Inuit Art at Harbourfront in the Queen Quay Terminal Building on the main floor.

Continued learning is an important thing in our household. Whether it be learning about different cultures or places in our city, you can usually find us soaking in some new knowledge on the weekends.

For example, did you know that the Inuit were encouraged by the Canadian government to learn and sell their art as a result of being forcibly removed from their homeland by that same government?

If you’ve never been to the Museum of Inuit Art, I highly encourage you to do so. Visit them online.

Toronto

PitchTalks: Pre-Spring Training Edition

Last night, Toronto’s baseball faithful enjoyed one of the most entertaining editions of Pitch Talks to date.

Alexis Brudnicki shared her deep insights and knowledge about Canadian International Baseball. I always appreciate the early speakers and panelists. Most of the time they bring a new and fresh perspective on the sport.

alexis brudnicki | pitchtalks | karimkanji

Alex Seixeiro and Scott Cullen shared their thoughts on the upcmoing fantasy baseball season. I’m not a huge fantasy player. However, there were tons of people in attendance who had their nerd caps on. It was an amazing sight to behold.

alex seixeiro and scott cullen | fantasy baseball | pitchtalks | karim kanji

Finally we had the pre-season Blue Jays banter with Scott MacArthur, Mike Wilner, Jamie Campbell and Gregg Zaun. And this panel DID NOT disappoint. Zaun, in fact, stole the show. He shared stories of his time with the Baltimore Orioles (getting put in his place by Cal Ripkin Jr.), Florida Marlins (World Series champs) and Toronto Blue Jays (helping JP Arencibia learn to become a major league catcher). Zaun was uncensored and in the mood to share with fans of the best sport in the world.

gregg zaun | pitch talks | karim kanji

If you’re a fan of baseball in Toronto (or Canada for that matter) then Pitch Talks is the place to be. What are you waiting for?!

Here are some more photos from last night:


 

Toronto

Skating in Morningside Park

Michael Gauthier must have been proud. This past weekend the natural ice rink that Professor Gauthier and his environmental science students built (with the help of volunteers, community members and Home Depot, among others) finally officially opened.

We first came across Gauthier and his rink in the fall during one of our weekend city hikes.

Here’s a great write up of the birth of this 100% community initiative.

And here’s some photos from this weekend’s skating festivities. Can you tell it was the coldest weekend of the year?

 

concert

Hey Rosetta! shines as opening act for Stars

This past Family Day long weekend, I attended the Stars show at Toronto’s historic Danforth Music Hall. The opening act was Hey Rosetta! from Newfoundland.

It was the first time seeing any of these bands live as well as attending the Danforth Music Hall. and I came away both pleased and excited.

Stars are a favourite local band that has been making waves both here in Canada and around the world for their fun pop anthems and energized live shows. Their 2012 album, The North, is in heavy rotation on my laptop. And they did not disappoint the thousands in attendance.

Hey Rosetta! are the “new kids on the block”. And I came away more than impressed. So much so that I truly believe that they are going to be one of the biggest indie rock bands in the world. Think the same level as Arcade Fire. They have a ways to go but there was something about them that impressed me.

Maybe it was the impressive vocal range of lead singer and songwriter, Tim Baker. I don’t want to jinx anything but he kept on reminding me of Coldplay front man, Chris Martin. Or maybe it was the durability of Romesh Thavanathan who played guitar, cello (I think) and guitar. Most likely it was that any band who has a french horn featured in multiple songs is a winner in my books.

Look out for these guys!

 

 

blog

An End of an Era

Nothing lasts forever.

Stephen Colbert left The Report to play the straight man in late night television. Jon Oliver took his talents to HBO. And even household favourite David Letterman is leaving late night.

Today, Jon Stewart announced his retirement from The Daily Show. This dramatic change in the television landscape opens the door for both fresh new voices as well as his “conservative” critics to fill the void.